Statehouse Live: Brownback cuts $50 million from public schools

Senator questions governor’s authority

Topeka  Gov. Sam Brownback on Friday slashed $56.5 million in state spending, including $50.2 million from public schools after fellow Republicans who control the House and Senate failed to come up with a budget-balancing plan.

The move produced finger-pointing between House and Senate GOP leaders, and Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka questioned whether Brownback even had the authority to take the unilateral action on the budget.

The move means that base state aid to schools will fall from $4,012 per pupil to $3,990 — a $22 per student decrease, according to the governor's office. The base state aid per pupil cut would have been deeper, but the state will move some federal funds around to keep it at $22 per student, the office said.

Brownback said the cuts will satisfy a state requirement to balance the budget by the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30.

He said he would like legislators now to focus on the budget for the fiscal year, that starts July 1 and which faces a nearly $500 million deficit.

Noting the state’s 110,000 unemployed, Brownback said, “Our focus must be to grow the state’s economy and get those folks back to work. We do that and we’ll have additional funding for everyone’s budget priorities.”

Brownback said he picked up the budget knife after House and Senate negotiations fell apart.

Brownback had asked the Legislature on Jan. 12 to send him a bill that would cut spending and provide a $35 million ending balance.

The House and Senate passed different versions. But negotiators couldn’t hammer out the differences. The House wanted deeper cuts to education than the Senate was willing to make.

Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said public schools have been cut sharply over the past three years.

Hensley said the House-Senate budget conference committee should continue working.

Of Brownback, he said, “He can’t even bring members of his own party together.”

House Speaker Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, also said the budget conference committee could continue meeting, but Senate members indicated that Brownback’s budget cuts would suffice for the current fiscal year, and the Legislature should focus during the rest of the legislative session on writing a budget for the next fiscal year.

The budget cuts include $2.3 million from the Kansas Board of Regents. But Kip Peterson, a spokesman for the regents, said that money is coming from an overfunded infrastructure loan program and shouldn’t affect higher education operations.

Sure he has -- in muck and other "stuff" covered ones. He's a Kansan, raised from good stock on a farm, with excellent values. He's making the right decisions for these tough times. As was his immediate predecessor, also a good guy.

Mr. and Mrs. Brownback did NOT raise Sam to be the great "I AM" of the state of Kansas. I went to high school with Sam and he must have learned these new tactics somewhere besides, Parker, Ks., where his parents' farm is located.

He doesn't want to admit that he's now cut special education matching grants from public schools forever and now we'll just start next year (and every year after that) with less money but still have the same financial obligation to pay for the services. Let the lawsuits begin.

No, it's losing the 25 million in matching grants forever, so it's starting every year that much more in the hole. You also don't lose the obligation to pay for those services, so it's starting every year twice as much in the hole as general ed funds are applied to SpEd services that could have been financed with a matching grant.

In what universe is it fiscally responsible to cut 50 million for one year and lose 25 million extra every year forever?

While your sarcastic Godwinism is obviously hyperbolic, the Nazis (note: no apostrophe) didn't much care for special ed, either.

Fiscal Sanity he says! Where were you when O'Neal and his beaches voted to spend 300 million dollars on the Capitol building renovation that's been going on for almost 9 years? 60 million dollars for an underground parking garage for the legislators so they don't have to walk half a block and maybe get rained on or, god forbid, meet a little person on the sidewalk.

Brownback! You and the rest of the scoundrals are about to pay dearly for the mess you helped create and continue to create!

Oh, I agree that O'Neal's a piece of work, but the senate budget committee was trying to prevent the children in the house from making a extremely fiscally irresponsible cut to education spending that would lose the state federal matching funds forever.

Right. It is not fiscally sane to just slash away without regard for the consequences. Short term cuts that lead to long term liabilities are stupid. A number of Senate Republicans clearly recognize this, but House Republicans don't seem capable of distinguishing between logic and nonsense. Brownback now must choose his fork of the Republican path: follow the brain dead O'Neal and company or act in a responsible manner.

Unwilling to bear responsibility for real budgetary solutions, Gov. Brownback (still fresh from swearing in with his next campaign waaaaayyyy down the road) has been given the ball with not much shot clock left. One swish, and the $$$$$$$$$$$ are being yanked from anywhere & everywhere (one exception--Office of Repealer). NO specifics articulated?? Is this such a mystery, or will we receive details over the weekend when the news cycle nets less attention? The legislature (with few exceptions) remains a band of spineless morals vigilantes sucking the state treasury dry for one more session!

If those corporations are people, too, how come they can't chip in and pay years of back taxes, take a moratorium on subsidies, and shoulder some of the 'sacrifice', too. Not to mention bad schools will effect their business now and for years into the future.

Once the school system falls apart,and maybe labor laws get loosened, children will be very good low pay workers doing factory work and digging ditches for corporations that don't have to pay income tax anymore. So when our kids are getting a $2/hour paycheck from KOCH industries, we can say "Thanks, Brownback for the job creating!!!!"

So, Brownback wanted a $35 million surplus. The House insisted on even more, turning down a compromise from the Senate of a $20 surplus. Brownback is forced to make the cuts himself and by law cannot create a surplus.

The House is the obvious loser here. Instead of $35 million or even $20 million, the surplus will be 0. Does anyone need more evidence that O'Neal is a boob?

Two Democrats are responsible for this mess. One is Obama - his arrogance and Obamacare so infuriated people that they came out and voted for any Republican. The other is Parkinson - he could have beat Brownback, but decided not to run and instead we had Holland. Holland had no chance even without the anti-Obama factor.

no. People are responsible for this mess. The Affordable health Care Act is an abomination because of the stupidity of people listening to stupid people. And they played right into the hands of the Fascist Corporatists

Nope. Wrong Fred. It was Brownback's rich old white men who crumbled our economy playing fast and loose with derivatives in the stock market. The good old American Taxpayers had to bail those jerks out or we'd all be speaking Chinese right now. And let's not forget who pays the taxes around here...it isn't rich old white corporate men.

Obama had NO choice. Now Brownback want's to continue to reward those corporate types with even more tax breaks.

Kook - set aside your prejudice and bias and think about what I wrote instead of just reacting. My point was a defense of Brownback, but just the opposite. It was to point out that his being elected was a reaction to Obama and the fact that Parkinson choose to let us down by not running. He could have beat Brownback whereas Holland had no chance.

Also, I'd venture that most rich old corporate men do pay more in taxes in terms of dollars than you do. Now percentage of income might be less, but the fact remains they do pay taxes.

We won't have to deal with Brownback much longer. Just wait a few months and we'll see old Brownback's running for President. Let's hope he picks a better running mate than Palin and get's the heck out of Kansas. Unfortunately, he'll trash the state like a drunken frat boy before he leaves.

"He's nothing but a low-down, double-dealing, backstabbing, larcenous perverted worm! Hanging's too good for him. Burning's too good for him! He should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive! "

$300 million in capital renovations.........if you notice how they're doing the construction, they are doing it in intervals at different sections so the whole place has something going on somewhere. Much more expensive to do that way, but it also makes everything disorganized so if the funds were stopped the place would be in a shambles. Pretty smart whomever dictated that process. Also shows how inept elected officials are - just another government boondoggle.

A democrat says Brownback can't get people in his own party to agree - that's because there are so many RINO's (Republicans in name only) in the party, but it makes good press.

More symbolism. Do you ever add anything real to an argument, or do you rely strictly on right wing noise? Open up your mind, indeed. The reason your posts get mocked is because they are entirely without substance and based on half truths and talking points, not on reality.

do we really want to spend money educating people who can't afford to go to a private school? What brownback is doing should not be a shocker to anyone. only rich republicans should be able to go to college.

I encourage the governor and the house and senate to cut spending and cut deep. School spending is a joke. Lets see, we built two new football stadiums for the high schools, new baseball fields, soccer fields at about 10 million dollars during the worst economic times in modern history, but we discover we have grade schools still using portable class rooms. The school closing committee said we will need another bond issue for 1.3 million dollars from the taxpayer to fix that problem. The budget for stadiums and construction of classrooms comes from the same budget. Lawrence picked stadiums over classrooms and children. This has always been the case for the public schools across this country. They are failing at every level in every state and it has to change. Lawrence can clearly adsorb more cuts, at least another 10 million or so. The failure isn't the teacher. But teachers better figure out that their success come from their willingness to change the educational process. Parent choice of schools, private schools, home schools, online classrooms, all will promote a better learning process and more choices for teachers to work. Follow the money because one way or another slowly but surely the public school model is shrinking as it has to compete with other models that are going to educate our children in the future. From sea to shining sea, from California, to New York, the public schools are failing, the unions are crumbling. This isn't something we should be proud of but those who claim to care about our children are absent. They are standing in front of the Wisconsin capital building, instead of the classroom blackboard. The teachers union is a fraud. They could care less about the children, They're only goal is to protect the state funding and prevent others from creating a better system.

I have got to move my family out of this backward, ridiculous state. My kids won't stand a chance making their way in the world, competing, if they aren't well educated. We can't afford private schools. (and here's a big secret....they aren't always the best at educating children either-SHOCKER! You can't even find accountability data on most of them!) Kansas was doing well. Teachers were working hard with what they had and test scores were improving. Then came the budget cuts. And more budget cuts. And by golly-yesterday even more budget cuts. If schools weren't failing before, they certainly will be in the next few years until we can get a governor with the sense to restore equity and money to education.

$50 million. Chump change, not even petty cash for Koch Industries who have Gov. Brokeback squarely in their back pocket. He's nothing more than a wooden puppet for them--their wish is his command. Another stunt--diversionary tactic that goes over well with conservative Christian Republicans with money and no children, just a bigger version of attempting to take away $600K from Kansas Arts Commission. Follow the bigger dollars. You won't see Brownie touching the real sewage hole where corporate subsidies are draining this pathetic state. We elected him, and this is what we're going to get, so that he can stand up in front of the world when he attempts to run for president to brag how he balanced the budget--on the backs of 5 to 16 year old children.

Sounds like the governor of Kansas and Wisconsin are moving our states toward dictatorships. O'Neal isn't any better than him either wanting to abolish the State Board of Education. These guys are gems and thanks to those of you who voted for them, because I sure didn't!

Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana...It's a coordinated attack against working people.
The Republicrats have been trying to establish a permanent majority by destroying the last vestiges of labor in the Midwest. It started in the 80's with Ronald Reagan. Trade unions are the biggest sources of financial and grass roots organizational support for Democrats and it really irks the Repukelicrats. It's called class war and they will not be satisfied until we're all reduced to serfdom.

I along with a majority of Kansans (of course a minority in Lawrence) voted for this man because we were realistic...tough, no-win decisions need to be made in our future. Since most of us don't grow our own money trees we need a man who realizes raising taxes is not an option.

I'm glad state employees were spared getting their pay cut; but I'd rather see money going into education than the Kansas Art Commission. Well...be grateful...you still got that art you couldn't live without.

This won't be the last lose-lose decision that the man the majority of Kansans elected for Governor will have to make.

That ought to just about pay for the next round of corporate welfare in Kansas, while simultaneously making children in Kansas and therefore the next generation of adults in Kansas dimmer and less able to think for themselves.

We are getting a good education , we are getting it from Brownback and Koch, Kansas proud possessors of Brownback, Phelps and Koch. we should ask to be annexed to Colorado as Kansas has lost all pride and honor.. No one in their right mind, unless they are stealing money from schools to give to the oil industry, robs the kids of an education. I don't pay taxes for Koch to run ads in Wi. I want my taxes to go to schools and services. the republicans have demonized state workers, teachers, disabled, non "traditional" families, I have always supported business, I don't mean with my taxes. Simplify the tax code, lets get Kansas out of the crooked politician business.

Oh, STFU. That money could be saved by cutting tax breaks for corporations and we wouldn't have to lose a dime from education OR social programs. Koch, Brownhole, et al are more interested in covering their bankbooks and keeping their base uneducated than they are about moving this state forward.

The funny thing is, is that many of the right-wing posters on this site are the products of public education. Without it, most of them would have been too poor or too academically deficient to even have a chance at going to a private school or university.

I guess that is the quandry of public education. In a system without public education, most of these right-wing posters would be too uneducated to underatand what a computer is, let alone literate enough to write even their current inane and ignorant posts.

Also, they would be too busy working the fields and digging holes and shoveling manure and dying in wars to have time to write these screeds, even if they were literate.

All I see is that people have forgot who caused the nations downturn. All I see is that Government Workers, Unions, and Social Securtiy are blamed for the economic problems. Lets remember, 2 wars and a tax cut while we were trying to fight theis wars, first time in our history that taxes were not raised during war time. Wall street lying, gambling and fraud. How many people have gone to jail from Wall street for what they did to the economie yet a few years ago we could send a person to jail for $10000 crime on Wall street. The cause of the problems come from both political parties, but people have to start to look at who is really creating the problems.

Wake up people. This is what was going to happen all along. Look at the people Brownback hired. They advocate dismantling public schools. They think education and health care should only be for people who can afford it. They want a high unemployment rate, so workers will be coming to them begging for a job that pays pennies. But you voted for them, so you get what you paid for. But, guess what, you'll be lucky if you are working at the big house; you sure won't be living in one.

Have you ever noticed how many people who do NOT have any kids of their own in public school are always the ones making the decisions about pubic schools? I think we (the voters) need to do something about that... ya think?

Right-on, Chic. This country is not a kid-friendly place. In my darker moments I fear that it's because certain people in power only really care about kids who look like them ("real" American kids, who can just go off to private school.) Come on, people, aren't we better than that?

(And no, I don't have any evidence that this is the case. Like I said, it's just a dark, sad fear.)

A majority of voters in November, 2010 voted for Brownback, but don't delude yourself into thinking that represents a majority of Kansans. It barely represents more people then voted for Obama two years earlier, and Obama got 42% of the vote in this state.

Who can be surprised when Brownback acts this way? He has shown every propensity to govern for unseen plutocrats. Wisconsin comes south. Who is getting the $50M+ in corporate give-aways that help him push Kansas towards a crazy voucher system?

When you start messing with the future of children, ESPECIALLY MY CHILDREN!.......well, passive resistance quickly turns into aggressive conflict in my mind.

Anyone who agrees with this move and these 'cuts' should just form a human shield around the capitol building. Blame Obama , blame whomever you want, the fact is.....we, the NON 2% of this state (meaning those who aren't millionaires) ARE ALL GOING TO LOSE AND LOSE BIG BECAUSE OF THIS. It really is a shame.

Its time for Kansas to return to its Democratic Socialist roots, meaning the PRIMARY function of the government is to SERVE the people, from the lower classes up, not serve their fancy garages and give their buddies corp. tax breaks.....of course some dip-hole in this thread is going to see 'Democrat' and will try to run with it.

Until we start putting NORMAL people in positions of government, we will always fail. The rich will keep getting rich and the poor get poorer.

The Governor's cuts are actually good news for the school district. They now need only to find about $300K in the current year. They planned on, and implemented, anticipatory cuts of $1M at the January 2011 board meeting. This $700K difference can used to help offset cuts next year! Further, the cuts necessary for next year also went down with Brownback's decree. Before any school closes, the schoolboard MUST BE held accountable & forced to disclose the finances. It should be easy for the public to see that a school does not need to be closed. The $700K banked this year more than pays for the alleged savings from closing any schools next year!!!

Hope Mr. Fagan reports this!!! Better yet, how about if Mr. Fagan does some investigative reporting and confronts Doll, Minder, Morgan and the rest of the school board with this reality!!

May be able to handle the cuts this year, but what about next year, and the year after that. All the state government is going to do is keep trying to balance the budget on education, good luck. And for all you people that say why should I help pay for schools because I either have no children or my children are gone, who payed for your education. I am sure most of you went to public school and the tax payer of that time helped pay for your schooling.